[Kei]
The first thing Kei became aware of was that his neck hurt.
Badly.
Like someone had personally declared war on his spine.
"..."
He frowned.
Why?
Then he opened his eyes.
The answer arrived immediately.
The floor.
He was on the floor.
Half on the floor.
Actually.
His upper body was on the floor.
His legs were somehow still on the edge of the bed.
Which explained a lot.
"..."
Kei stared at the ceiling.
What.
Exactly.
Had happened?
Slowly, memory returned.
Talking.
Complaining.
More talking.
No-Ah laughing at him.
Then...
Nothing.
A horrifying realization struck him.
He had fallen asleep.
In No-Ah's room.
Like an idiot.
Kei closed his eyes.
Fantastic.
Wonderful.
A truly incredible career decision.
If anyone found out, Mrs. Yoon would kill him.
Then bring him back to life.
And kill him again.
Very slowly.
He sat up.
Immediately regretted it.
His neck protested.
His shoulder protested.
His entire body protested.
Apparently sleeping folded in half was not recommended by medical professionals.
Noted.
As he rubbed his eyes, movement caught his attention.
The bed.
No-Ah was still asleep.
Kei froze.
Not because she was close.
She wasn't.
There was almost an entire person's worth of space between them.
No.
It was because he had never seen her asleep before.
She looked...
Different.
Not dramatically.
Just quieter.
The usual expression she wore was gone.
No confusion.
No deadpan responses.
No mildly judgmental staring.
No-Ah was always reacting to something.
Thinking about something.
Looking like she was about to say something strange.
Now there was none of that.
Just stillness.
For a moment, Kei found himself staring.
Then immediately looked away.
Because that felt weird.
Very weird.
He looked back.
Unfortunately.
The weirdness remained.
"..."
Why did she look younger asleep?
That was unfair.
People weren't supposed to change forms overnight.
He studied her for another second.
Then another.
Not because he wanted to.
Because his brain seemed to have temporarily forgotten how to leave.
A strand of hair had fallen across her face.
She hadn't noticed.
Obviously.
Because she was asleep.
The realization was stupidly obvious.
And somehow—
strangely fascinating.
No-Ah spent so much time talking.
Moving.
Doing things.
Being irritating.
It was easy to forget she ever stopped.
Yet here she was.
Completely unaware of him.
Completely unguarded.
Trusting enough to fall asleep with him still in the room.
Something uncomfortable shifted in his chest.
Not bad.
Just...
New.
Kei frowned.
What was that?
No answer arrived.
Which was annoying.
He preferred answers.
Before he could think about it any further—
No-Ah moved.
Kei immediately looked away.
Far too late.
Her eyes slowly opened.
Silence.
No-Ah blinked once.
Twice.
Then looked down at him.
Still half sitting on the floor.
Looking deeply suspicious.
"..."
"..."
"...Why are you staring at my bed?"
Kei felt genuine relief.
There she was.
Normal No-Ah.
Alive and causing problems.
"I was not."
"You were."
"I wasn't."
"You absolutely were."
Kei stood up immediately.
Or tried to.
His foot caught on the blanket.
The next three seconds were catastrophic.
No-Ah watched him nearly fall over.
Then sighed.
"You look like you've been hit by a truck."
"I slept on the floor."
"Whose fault is that?"
Kei pointed at her.
Without hesitation.
"Yours."
"What?"
"You own the floor."
No-Ah stared at him.
"...That is the dumbest thing you've ever said."
Kei considered it.
"Top ten."
"No."
"Top five."
"No."
"Fair."
☆ ☆ ☆
The breakfast place was crowded.
Which was unfortunate.
Because crowded meant people.
And people occasionally recognized him.
Kei adjusted his cap lower.
Across from him, No-Ah was eating as if none of this concerned her.
Which, technically, it didn't.
"You look suspicious."
Kei looked up.
"I look normal."
"You look like you're avoiding taxes."
"I do not know enough about taxes to avoid them."
"That's not reassuring."
Kei ignored her.
Instead, he took a sip of coffee.
Peace.
Finally.
For approximately seven seconds.
Then—
"...Excuse me?"
Kei closed his eyes.
No.
A young woman stood beside their table.
Phone already in hand.
Looking increasingly excited.
"Oh my God."
Kei considered climbing out the window.
Unfortunately, they weren't sitting near one.
"You're Kei, right?"
"No."
The woman blinked.
Then pointed at him.
"You literally just admitted it."
"..."
"..."
"That's not how denial works."
No-Ah immediately looked away.
Her shoulders shaking.
Traitor.
The fan laughed.
"Can I get a picture?"
Kei sighed.
"Sure."
A quick photo.
Simple.
Easy.
Then came the dangerous question.
The fan looked at No-Ah.
"Oh."
No.
No, no, no.
Kei knew that expression.
He'd seen it hundreds of times.
Curiosity.
The beginning of disaster.
"Who's she?"
Kei froze.
Across the table, No-Ah looked up.
Waiting.
Friend?
Too complicated.
Acquaintance?
No.
Classmate?
They weren't classmates.
Neighbor?
Absolutely not.
His brain offered nothing useful.
So naturally—
"She's family."
Silence.
The second the words left his mouth, Kei regretted everything.
No-Ah slowly turned toward him.
Very slowly.
The fan gasped.
"Your sister?"
Kei opened his mouth.
This was his chance.
His opportunity.
His final escape route.
"...Yes."
No-Ah nearly inhaled her drink.
Fantastic.
Now he was lying twice.
The fan looked delighted.
"I didn't know you had a sister!"
"Neither did I," No-Ah said.
Kei immediately kicked her under the table.
Not hard.
Just enough.
"Ouch."
"See?" Kei said quickly.
The fan blinked.
"See what?"
"We argue constantly."
No-Ah stared at him.
"What does that prove?"
"Sibling behavior."
"No it isn't."
"It absolutely is."
"No, it isn't."
The fan nodded enthusiastically.
"Oh wow. You really do sound like siblings."
Kei pointed at No-Ah.
"Exactly."
"I hate you."
"Again. Sibling behavior."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
The fan laughed.
Completely convinced.
Somehow.
Which was deeply concerning.
"You're hilarious."
"We're not trying to be."
"Speak for yourself," No-Ah muttered.
The fan smiled before lifting her phone again.
"Can I record a short message?"
Kei's smile froze.
Record.
Wonderful.
His favorite word.
Before he could answer, the fan had already started.
"Hi everyone! I just met Kei!"
Kei internally accepted his fate.
The fan swung the camera toward No-Ah.
"And his sister!"
"No—"
Too late.
The fan beamed.
"Say hi!"
No-Ah looked directly into the camera.
Then directly at Kei.
Then back at the camera.
"...I learned about this relationship twelve minutes ago."
Kei dropped his head into his hands.
The fan burst out laughing.
"Oh my God."
No-Ah continued eating.
Completely serious.
"Apparently we're family."
"We are."
"We are not."
"You don't get to decide that."
"That is literally how family works."
The fan was practically crying from laughter now.
Which somehow made everything worse.
Eventually, after another photo and several enthusiastic goodbyes, she finally left.
The moment she disappeared through the door—
Silence.
Kei stared at his coffee.
No-Ah stared at him.
A long pause.
Then—
"Sister."
"It was an emergency."
"You said we look alike."
"I panicked."
"You lied to a stranger."
"I lie professionally."
"You're a singer."
"Exactly."
No-Ah rubbed her forehead.
"I cannot believe that worked."
"It worked because you helped."
"I did not help."
"You argued with me."
"Because you were lying."
Kei pointed at her.
"Sibling behavior."
No-Ah threw a napkin at him.
He caught it.
Unfortunately.
Which only made him look more pleased with himself.
"You are impossible."
"So I've been told."
Another silence settled between them.
Comfortable.
Easy.
Nothing like the silence from two weeks ago.
No-Ah took another bite of breakfast.
Then, casually—
"You know."
Kei looked up.
"What?"
"You could've just said I was your friend."
His expression paused.
Only for a second.
A tiny hesitation.
Gone so quickly most people wouldn't notice.
No-Ah did.
Kei looked down at his coffee.
"...I panicked."
The answer came too fast.
Too practiced.
No-Ah narrowed her eyes.
Not convinced.
Across from her, Kei stood up.
"Let's go."
"You're avoiding the question."
"I answered the question."
"You absolutely did not."
Kei grabbed his cap.
Already walking toward the door.
"No-Ah."
"What?"
"Hurry up."
She stared at him.
Then sighed.
And followed.
Because apparently that was something she did now.
Neither of them noticed the small smile that lingered on Kei's face as he pushed the door open.
Or maybe they did.
And neither of them wanted to talk about it.
☆ ☆ ☆